Hollywood private eye Pellicano sentenced

December 15, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for running a wiretapping scheme that spied on the rich and famous.

U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer sentenced the 64-year-old Pellicano today and ordered him and two other defendants to forfeit a total of $2 million.Pellicano was convicted of 78 total counts, including wiretapping, racketeering and wire fraud, in two trials earlier this year.

Prosecutors say Pellicano wiretapped stars such as Sylvester Stallone and bribed police to run names such as Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon through law enforcement databases to find dirt clients could use in legal and other disputes.